Servicemembers and their families make many sacrifices to keep the rest of us safe. They face unique challenges, including the stresses of deployment and frequent moves. Unfortunately, scammers see those sacrifices as an opportunity to create confusion and drum up endless varieties of trickery to separate military personnel from their money.

Online shopping makes it easy and convenient to search for — and buy — the must-have items on your wish list. Before you buy, check out these tips on avoiding hassles, getting the right product at the right price, and protecting your financial information.

Do you work or volunteer with people who are restarting their lives after being incarcerated? Then you’ve probably seen first-hand how important it is that people reenter society with skills to help them make good financial decisions. Effective reentry strategies reduce crime and enhance individual and community well-being. The FTC has free materials to help people reentering society understand background checks, manage money, spot and avoid scams, avoid identity theft, and make good buying decisions.

Join our webinar to learn how our resources can support reentry, parole and corrections programs – and share your ideas about the kinds of information this community needs. All FTC resources are free and have no copyright restrictions, and we’ll ship you as many as you need for your program. For free.

Each year, many people join multi-level marketing plans – and many also leave. Because your time and money are valuable, it pays to do some research in advance. If you’re thinking about joining any multi-level marketing company, here are a few things to consider:

When the FTC settles with – or sues – a company, we’re often trying to stop illegal behavior, return lost money to people as often as we can, and generally make unfair things fair and deceptive things true. Today’s historic settlement with Herbalife goes one better:

Smart technology makes it possible to connect devices — from pet feeders to home surveillance systems — to the Internet and control them from nearly anywhere. The technology is evolving rapidly, promising even greater convenience, security, and comfort in the future.

But the pace at which the technology is changing also poses possible pitfalls.